IOC earmarks ₹25,000-cr for green energy generation

Indian Oil Corp ((IOC) plans to invest ₹25,000 crore in green energy projects, including wind and solar power plants, among others. The company has developed a road map and action plan to usher in clean and green energy generation alternatives to mitigate the risk of global warming. It will scale up its wind and solar power portfolio to 260 MW by 2020 from the current 216 MW, which includes 167 MW of wind and 49 MW of solar. An interesting transition is visible at more than half the company’s filling stations where solar panels are helping cut dependence on grid power. Pumps are seeing increased sales after solar installation in areas that suffered from unreliable grid supply. Of the total 27,800 fuel stations, 14,173 are solar-operated with a combined installed capacity of 77 MW. In 2018-19, 5,000 stations were converted to operate on solar. Rising environmental concerns are increasingly swaying government energy policies across the globe, prompting energy companies to invest in greener options.